Beyond
Walking

By Ronda Gates, MS

Ronda Gates, MS, is a pharmacy grad who traded her white coat for a pair of athletic shoes and never looked back. Her health promotion business, LIFESTYLES, provides motivational speaking, program development, and fitness assessment services to support people making a lifestyle change. She has developed health promotion programs for many organizations nationwide.
Visit www.rondagates.com for a complimentary subscription to Ronda’s weekly email newsletter.

An early-morning walk is a blessing for the whole day.

— Henry David
Thoreau

Ready for a New Attitude

Language for Stages of Change
Pre-contemplation: “Huh?”
Contemplation: “Oh, that’s how.”
Preparation: “What do I need to do?”
Action: “I’m ready to dive into the process.”
Maintenance: “I will persist.”

Each of us lives by values that are the essence of who we are. When we make choices that are not in synch with this true identity, our self-worth is compromised. The payoff for an errant behavior — feeling better — is inevitably followed by a price. If healthy living is a value, the price for a skipped exercise session or overeating may be a dangerous blood chemistry result, tight pants, or simple self-disgust. We contemplate change.

The move from contemplation to action is often sealed with setting smart goals, creating an action plan, or participating in a structured program. Some of us seek the support of a personal trainer, life coach, or membership in a health club to provide social support and peer pressure to manage the stress of changing habits. Filled with hope, we ignore the detrimental baggage that silently accompanies the pledge for better living. This includes our personal history, lifetime habits, self-defeating behaviors, and the guilt of past failures. So, what can we do to break free of old patterns?

Savvy change agents know that attitude is the most important characteristic a successful client brings to the table. This is more than wanting a result. It’s a belief that nothing stands in the way of a goal because the results are already a certainty.

For some years now, the concept of attitude as a prevailing factor in supporting change has been flying under the radar. In self-help circles, our attitude regarding our potential for successful change is described as the law of attraction. You’ve probably used phrases that describe this universal law: “Birds of a feather flock together,” “Like attracts like,” or “You reap what you sow.” In short, the focus of our mindful thoughts becomes what we attract.

Consider any of your routine habits. Whether it’s brushing your teeth after a meal, turning down the heat before bedtime, or feeding the cat first thing in the morning, you go through these habitual motions without thinking about them. That’s because after consciously repeating them so often, they have slipped into the reality of your unconscious mind. Unfortunately, the same can be true for not-so-good behaviors.

Despite our best intentions, when under stress, we sidestep from our commitment to a value-based life and develop behaviors that provide relief at a difficult time — a time crunch, a long To-Do list, or not feeling up to par. Life seems easier to manage. Guilt isn’t too profound. The choice is repeated. Soon this not-so-good behavior is an unconscious habit. Once aware we’ve “done it again,” the behavior can trigger language that reflects how we feel about this out-of-our values way of life. “I can’t keep a commitment,” “I’m probably going to fail again,” or “I don’t know why I can’t do as well as everyone else in this program.” The brain registers these negative messages as truth and they soon become reality.

If you are setting a course for new behaviors any time during the year, remember: You create your own reality and attract those things you focus upon. To fortify success in whatever you undertake, examine your values and the language you use when you compare them with how you live. If you discover your lifestyle choices do not reflect your values, there is good news: You can adjust your attitude. Here are a few tried-and-true tactics to cultivate a life-changing attitude.

Clearly identify and be able to describe what you want. Strengthen your commitment to change with a vision of success. Construct a collage that represents this new reality and post it where you see it first thing in the morning and last thing at night. Create and use affirmations several times a day. To bolster good feelings, practice gratitude by spending a few minutes each night listing the positive experiences you appreciated in your day. Consciously pay attention to, acknowledge, and record how good you feel about yourself each time you successfully stick to your action plan. Forgive yourself when you lapse.

Last but not least, consider using a strategy that’s been so useful to my clients that it has been copyrighted. Each time you hear yourself being negative, add these three magic words “up until now” to turn negative thoughts into positive ones. For example, “I never follow through on my exercise program, up until now,” “I can’t take time to fix a healthy lunch to take to work, up until now,” or “Change is so hard, up until now.” Those three words transform negative self-talk into positive and become the message your brain will hear. This is your new reality.

Whatever you choose to change anytime this year, add a positive attitude to your strategy tool box. Success is close at hand.

For more on the laws of attraction, see The Secret at www.beyondword.com.